I'm In Love
by NintendoGal55
Summary: I'm not afraid to say it anymore. I'm sure of it now, and it makes me smile when I say it. I'm in love. Post-TJM


**This kind of story here is somewhat inspired by a few of SuprSingr's 1****st**** person POV works. :D **

**It takes place after TJM, and it's our dear little football-headed hero talking about his now epic romance. :D Yay!**

**So you can decide if he's saying all of this to someone, or writing it in his journal, completely up to you. :)**

...

It's amazing. I never thought I'd say this. I mean, I was pretty sure I would one day, when the time came and I knew it for sure. But I never would have thought that I would be saying it right now, with the current circumstances.

But, I'm not afraid to say it anymore. I'm sure of it now, and it makes me smile when I say it.

I'm in love.

Pretty amazing, considering my love life. Or lack thereof at the time. It's funny, because everyone says I'm the "nice" guy, the guy that every girl wants. Well, I honestly had little to no luck with girls, ever since my interest in the opposite sex began. Sometimes I liked them more than they liked me, or the other way around, bad timing, were older than me, didn't know me, I didn't know them, you get the picture.

But now here I am, ten years old, in the fifth grade, I live in a boarding house with my parents, grandparents and boarders, I have great friends, and most of all, I have a girlfriend. My first real, and truly serious girlfriend. It's so unbelievable, and yet, every morning when I wake up, and eventually see a little photo of her I keep on one of my shelves next to my bed, I just smile and come to remember the special relationship we have now.

I'm in love, and I have a girlfriend. I hate to brag, but it feels really nice to say that.

A lot of people think I'm crazy to call it love. Since I'm just a kid, and they say that kids don't understand love, that they could never possibly find true love at such a young age.

But like she always says, there's a first time for everything. And that love works differently for everyone, on top of that. Besides, I know how I feel, and I'm happy. I know it's more than a puppy crush, it's more than how I felt towards my previous crushes. Especially Lila. It's a lot stronger, and I know that for sure now. At first it scared me, to feel this way, so _strongly_ about someone. But I'm not afraid anymore.

I never would've thought that I would be where I am right now. So in love with Helga Geraldine Pataki like I am.

That's right, Helga Pataki. It's strange to a lot of people; as they put it, "the Saint-like do-gooder and the aggressive troublemaker". Our classmates especially have come to speculate how much of a mismatch we really are. But I have to disagree.

I found out a lot of things as I got closer to Helga, and to be honest, we're actually perfect for each other. Some say we're polar opposites, and in a way we really can be, we're complex people in that sense, and that's part of what makes us work. We also really connect on a deep level that no one seems to understand, but it's there, and we know it. Even we can't explain it. But on a less deeper level, we have enough in common to pretty much get one another, you know? We even have a lot of common interests to have fun with, and we have our differences over things too. Our differences actually compliment each other very well, from what I've been told.

And you know, believe it or not, she's actually a really good girlfriend. Sure, she can be hard at times, and we have our arguments, but that's normal, even the best of friends fight sometimes. But aside from that, she's slowly more and more shedding her walls and defences, and feeling more and more comfortable with being herself, especially when we're alone. Helga's a great girlfriend, she really is. It's an amazing development compared to before. She's growing up, she's trying to be herself more and more, not just in front of me, but in front of others. I try to help her all I can to let her know that she shouldn't be afraid to be herself.

So now we're dating, we have been ever since I confessed that I felt the same way about her, back in the middle of the jungle of San Lorenzo, just before we were finally leaving to go back home after we'd found my parents. I won't go into all the details that led up to that point, but let's just say her confession on the rooftop of the FTi building amidst saving the neighbourhood was all a part of what awakened my own feelings for her.

A lot of people thought I hated her for what she'd done to me in the past. Teasing me mercilessly about my clothes, hair, the shape of my head, and some other trivial things. And tripping me, throwing spitballs at the back of my head, pressing her finger into the nozzle of the water fountain to spray the water on me, and even one time she glued feathers to my behind called me a bird.

Yep, she did a lot of mean things to me.

But, I never hated for it. I was always annoyed, and mostly ignored her, but I never hated her. For one thing, I'm just not the type of person to hate people. If they REALLY deserved it, maybe, but I didn't hate her. I never have, and I never will.

For one thing, I know now more than ever that she never meant all of the horrible things she said and did to me. And I forgave her for them. It doesn't matter now, because it's in the past, and all we can do is learn from our mistakes. She does still pull pranks and playful jokes, but that's just part of her charm and how she likes to have fun. Sure, they were no picnic and I may not forget them, but I forgive her.

Second, I always knew deep down, despite the harder moments of overlooking her brash behaviour, that she was a good person. She was always perfectly capable of being a caring, kind, warm, gentle, and above all really nice girl. I knew it from the moment I met her, from the moments I saw that in her, that there was more to her than what she presented to the world on a daily basis. She's a complex person, you can't describe her in one word. But I know she has a big heart that comes out when it counts.

Also, she's even done some really nice things, either to help me or to show that she cared about me. They were going from acts of genuine kindness, all the way to something so amazing, that was just beyond a simple act of kindness. From helping me to find Mr. Hyun's daughter in secret and giving up her Nancy Spumoni snowboots, to helping me save the entire neighbourhood and giving up getting rich off the deal, and most importantly, helping me find my parents even when it would risk her health or her life.

Helga...

I'm getting off track, but the point is, I know Helga can be aggressive, assertive, hard, rough around the edges, and brash, but that's part of who she is, and she's learning more and more to bring it out when it really counts. And well, I just still love her for it. When she's being herself, it's what makes me happiest.

It's funny, there was one time that Helga had gone one entire day without torturing me, this was back last year when we were still nine. She seemed...well, bored, tired, and depressed. I didn't understand it, and I was pretty worried about her, since she didn't seem like herself at all. Plus, she wasn't torturing me, and apparently, I just found it odd since that was how she gave me attention. Not that I'm the kind of person who needs attention all the time, but you know what I mean. I went to her and asked her if she was okay, saying that I noticed she didn't torture me that day. Gerald even said, "I don't care how much of a goody two-shoes you are, you do NOT go up to your own bully on a day that they're not torturing you and ask if they're okay and why they're not doing anything!" about all of that. And it's true, who really did that? I honestly didn't know a lot of people who did.

Not unless they had special feelings, as Gerald said.

Weird, huh?

Anyway, so now, our relationship is really better than it ever was. We've been together nearly two months now, it's almost December, we got together in October to be exact. We go on dates, talk on the phone, hang out each other's houses, usually mine since she practically lives there now, in school although everyone knows we're dating, we keep it low key and hold hands in the hallways sometimes, sit together at lunch, even sometimes with Gerald and Phoebe, and exchange notes and glances in class. It's kind of like we're best friends, except we're in love. And you know, I really do consider her to be one of my best friends now, as well as my girlfriend. People say it's great that a couple in love who are also best friends can really help strengthen the relationship.

Helga can get _really_ affectionate, especially when we're alone. In front of others, she's more cool about it and sometimes may just touch my hand or my arm, but when we're alone and she wants to be romantic, she's a snuggler, a hugger, and a kisser. When we watch movies, she cuddles into me and lays her head on my shoulder. When we part ways or she just wants to, she hugs me. And pretty much always when we're alone, she kisses me. Anything she does sends shivers up and down my spine and fills my stomach with butterflies.

In exchange, well, I was kind of shyly affectionate at first, since I was pretty new to actually loving and dating someone, but eventually I got into it and now I pretty much go along with her. I honestly love to be near her, whether we're cuddling, hugging, holding hands, or kissing, it doesn't matter, having her close makes me happy. She smells so nice, like a very sweet vanilla, and she even sometimes wears a flowery or fruity shampoo that makes her hair smell so pretty, so soft.

Gerald says I'm so blinded by love, that I find Helga to be beautiful. And well, I think she really is. When I think about it, I don't see it in a way of supermodels you would see on those magazines or beauty ads, but rather, just who she is. People think she's just plain, somewhat attractive, or ugly.

But when I see her, well, it's like I see something else, something big, something so much more. Her hair is shiny and golden like the sun, and soft anytime I touch it. Her skin is warm and soft to the touch, always so nice to feel. Her eyes are so stunning and so blue, I get so lost when I look into them, they're beautiful. I also like her nose, it's a little round a bit big for her face, but she'll grow into it, she's only ten, but overall, it's cute. Her mouth is pouty, especially with an upper lip like hers, I really just couldn't help but enjoy giving her a kiss on the mouth, much like how I did back in San Lorenzo when I told her that I loved her too. And you know what, I even like her unibrow. I know a lot people think it's weird and ugly, but I like it actually, it adds to her facial charisma and makes her unique.

Everything about her, at least to me, is so attractive. It's as if I never noticed her before, and just discovered her for the first time, even if I've known her since preschool. And when she lets her hair down, I get so much butterflies that I...

Okay, okay, enough of that.

Another thing that differs from my old crushes, is actually because I see more than just how Helga looks. She's such an amazing person on the inside too. I especially really admire her determination and drive, it's like she can do anything. And she can, the aptitude test from last year proved it. Well, once the mistaken switch was fixed. She's really smart, and even though she holds back so she won't come off like her sister, she does really well in school, and well, I'm proud of her really. But what really gets me, is her creative talent. She writes such beautiful poetry, and even lets me read some of her works, and even writes some to me in her little love notes. I really love her poetry. She's an amazing writer. She could really go places with her writing one day, and I bet she will. She'd be great at it.

So, despite her flaws and all of her mistakes, I really love Helga inside and out. Being with her has made happier than I've ever been in a long time. And it's not just about being in love and having a girlfriend.

It's that I'm in love with _Helga_, and that she's my girlfriend.

I can't wait to see her again tomorrow. Every time we're apart, for whatever reason, well, it's a drag and I want to see her again, I find myself missing her. Maybe not to the point of being a pathetic idiot, but you know, when you love someone, it's natural to want to be with them. I guess it really is true, when you love someone, friend or lover or family, you just want to be with them, and then you want to be with them more when you're apart.

So, well, I'm in love, and I'm in love with Helga.

I sure hope what we have will last a long time. I have a feeling it will. I don't know, I just do.


End file.
